Friday, October 29, 2010

And yes, it does have New Bundt Smell (thanks JustJenn for making me laugh with that one!)

I'm turning 40 years old soon and my ride needed an upgrade. My 1999 Toyota Corolla has been good to me, but after hitting 180,000 miles, I thought it was time to celebrate my milestone birthday with a new car! This is my new 2010 Toyota Corolla LE.

The best thing about my new car? The little things. Like a radio and driver's side window that actually work! Whoo hoo! My old car's window died about 7 months ago. When I picked up my car today, I didn't want to take a drive up the coast to see the beach, I wanted to drive-thru Starbucks. Or McDonald's. Or grab a parking ticket without opening my door. :)

I'm making 30 Bundts in 30 Day. It's crazy and I'm tired. This post is going up with less than 60 minutes to spare! So, I hope you will join me in celebrating National Bundt Day on November 15th with a Bundt! My friend JustJenn has a line of stationery and pins to celebrate the love of Big Bundts!

The cake is soft and moist. It was baked in the Nordic Ware Chrysanthemum Bundt Pan. I like the look of this pan, but because the center hole is pretty small, it sometimes take longer to bake the center than the edges. For this one, I put some foil over the pan during the last 10 minutes of baking. By the way, you know that all the calories escape through the hole in the center of the Bundt? Oh, yes. It's true :)

See you back here tomorrow for another Bundt! Good night! - mary the food librarian

1. Bring to a boil in a pot: Water, oil, butter and cocoa
2. In a large bowl, combine together with a whisk: flour, sugar, salt.
3. Add the chocolate mixture to the flour and mix until combined.
4. Add the buttermilk and baking soda and mix.
5. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract. Add to the batter and combine. Add Andes baking chips.
6. Pour batter into greased 10 or 12-cup Bundt pan (I prefer to use Pam with Flour or Bakers Joy) and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes (depends on what pan you use and your oven).
7. Cool in pan.
8. You can leave the bundt plain or top with powdered sugar, simple glaze or a ganache.